Chapter 6

The street was dark and empty, the bulbs in the lamps had long since burned out creating an oppressive atmosphere. Nobody walked the dark road aside from Ruby.

She pulled her cloak tighter around herself. She didn't want to be here longer than was necessary.

Being on the edge of the industrial district, the buildings were ill looked after and falling apart. It wasn't the kind of area she would normally have gone but she didn't have a choice.

It didn't take her long to arrive at her destination. A warehouse that looked marginally better than all of the others. A light was on outside a door at the side of the building. Ruby tensed as she noticed the woman standing there. Brown hair and plain clothing. She didn't really stand out, but she was the first person Ruby had seen since she got here.

Ruby let out a breath and walked up to the woman. "This warehouse is owned by Wickerman and Sons, right?"

The woman smiled and nodded, opening the door and walking inside. Ruby followed, a hand close to Crescent Rose. The warehouse was filled with boxes and a couple of trucks, but her attention was brought to the back of the room.

A light shined over a pair of couches which had a table in between them. Sitting on one, smoking, was a battered-looking Roman Torchwick. He didn't have his signature coat or hat and his head was bandaged but aside from that he looked well enough.

"Hey there Red, been a while."

The door closed behind her. Crescent Rose was already deployed by the time it clicked shut. Torchwick just sighed. "Come now Red, if this was an ambush I wouldn't have done it like this. You wouldn't have seen me." He waved his hand.

"Come, sit down. We have a lot to talk about."

Ruby hesitated before returning her weapon to its holster and sat down across from him. The woman from before plopped herself next to Torchwick and transformed. She became shorter and with pink and brown hair, Ruby recognized her instantly. The one from under the bridge! She helped Roman escape before the dance…

"So Red, I bet you have a lot of que-"

"How did you survive? Blake knocked you out." Ruby interrupted. What did she care about being polite to a criminal like Torchwick?! He helped kill her friends after all.

He sighed. "My associate here. She's the reason I survived. Both on the train and after." At her look, he continued. "My boss -and I hate calling her that,- would have killed me for failing to stop you from stopping the train. So Neo told her I'm dead."

"You messaged me saying you would give me the truth, so out with it." Ruby demanded

"Hostile, ain't ya Red? I can understand, losing a team, losing family and friends. I'll tell you everything, but you have to agree to two things first." He took a drag from his cigar before putting it out in an ashtray on the table.

Ruby looked hesitant, but she realised that she really needed to know what Roman was willing to tell her. Reluctantly she sat back and folded her arms and gave Roman a heated look.

"Fine".

"First of all, Ozpin and Ironwood can't know anything that could lead to, shall we say… a difficult situation."

"What do you mean?" Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"Ironwood isn't subtle. Look at all the soldiers he has parading about the city or that red-head that helped you at the docks. If I tell you who is behind all this and he finds out, he will attack straight away. He won't care that she will escape and my knowledge will be useless."

"And the Headmaster?"

"If Ozpin finds out then it'll get back to Ironwood. They're good friends after all. They can learn about what she had planned, as long as they are quiet about the preparations." Roman leaned back and Neo nodded before digging into some ice cream.

When did she?...

"Fine. Don't tell the Headmaster too much. What else?"

"Once all this is over, you are going to push for them to pardon me of all the crimes I committed under her orders."

"You really think they'll give that to you with just my word?"

"Once you're the girl who stopped someone from destroying the city? Easily. Don't worry, I don't want a pardon for everything I've ever done, just what she made me do. I didn't want to be her slave, but the thing is you don't get much of a choice and since I've been working for her my reputation has tanked. No one wants to work with me when they think that I've willingly become a terrorist. It's just bad business, I'm sure you understand."

If he was pardoned, he would just go back to theft and other relatively petty crimes. But if she didn't agree she wouldn't get the information. And who knew what would happen…

"Fine. I'll tell them. I can't promise anything though." She looked him in the eyes. He nodded.

"Didn't ask you for that. Just that you would try." Roman leaned forward. "Alright then, with that out of the way here's what you need to know..."

Ruby thought hard on all she had just heard.

Cinder Fall, a monster after something in Beacon. Pretending to be a student.

Her team, a thief and an assassin. They'd tried to become her friends!

Junior and his gang had taken Roman's place. Cinder wanted them caught by Ironwood to turn the Atlassian Knights against the people.

Everything was happening during the tournament. Should she believe him? Maybe not, but what other option did she have?

"So I imagine you have some plan for all of this, right?"

Roman, who had lit a new cigar while she had been thinking, nodded. "Neo and I will deal with the bots and Junior. So it'll be up to you to deal with Cinder. I'm not getting near that woman again."

"You said she had fire powers that went beyond Dust or a Semblance?"

"Yeah. Her Semblance seems to let her make glass weapons and probably more, but I'm not sure. Neo could only learn so much. She's skilled with Dust for sure, the way she weaves it into her clothes is proof enough, but the power and flexibility she shows goes beyond what Dust can do."

Roman shook his head. "She's a monster, you are going to need help." Ruby nodded. If she was as strong as he said then she would. She hadn't done well in the fight at the CCT. She had been wearing heels, but still. If it had been Cinder as Roman implied, then she had a baseline at least.

Skilled in the bow for sure, lots of Dust and now super flame powers. Great. My best hope would be getting the teachers, Qrow and dad to gang up on her with me and team JNPR. But how likely is that? If she is going to bring Grimm into the city and Beacon… it'll probably be only JNPR and me against her and that's if we're lucky.

It was a lot to think about. Roman slid a scroll across the table. "If you have any questions send them through this. It's the only way to contact me, so don't lose it ok? I won't give you another one."

Ruby pocketed the scroll. It'd come in handy that was for sure. "Thank you, Roman." she added reluctantly

He chuckled. "Just kill Cindy, ok Red?" She nodded and stood, it was time to leave.

As she walked however she hesitated. "Roman…"

"Yeah Red?"

"When all this is over… I'll be coming for you. Pardon or not you're still responsible for the train. For my team. I will get you one day."

Roman laughed. "Join the line kid. Lots of people are after me. But when you have free time after taking down Cinder and her cronies, then I'll gladly take you on as a new rival."

He was serious, beneath all the mirth anyway. He wanted Cinder dead so he was free, and if the price for that was Ruby hunting him until she got him or one of them died? He would take it. He valued his freedom and survival that much.

Ruby left the warehouse and the industrial district behind.

She was going to need allies for the coming fight and she had a good idea on who to recruit first.

Qrow sat in the rafters of the warehouse. It had been an interesting meeting. Who would have thought that his innocent little niece would consort with criminals? Especially the one who killed her team.

He didn't know what to think, however. Neither Ozpin nor Ironwood had thought of checking the students for Salem's agents and now an entire team had infiltrated Beacon. He had to do something.

But did he tell Oz? Roman was right on one thing, Ozpin and Ironwood were good friends. He could see Oz telling Ironwood and sending Qrow along to help deal with it. But was that the best call?

Maybe I should trust Ruby on this one. I can always poke them in the right direction from my end of things. It had been a while since he had wanted to keep something important from Ozpin. But he felt this was a good choice.

With barely a thought he transformed into a crow and flew closer to the thief and his partner.

"Yes, Neo I think we can trust her. She may be a goody-two-shoes but those eyes of hers… she's harbouring a whole truckload of anger. We've aimed at Cinder."

Neo typed something on her scroll and showed it to the flamboyant thief. He laughed. "Well, when this battle is done I imagine she'll learn about Cinder's boss and want to go after them. After all, she has to be wondering how someone like Cinder got into Haven. That should keep her off our backs for a good long while. We can start clearing my name and rebuild my operations in the meantime."

So he knows Cinder has a boss but it doesn't look like he knows anything else. At least he isn't some flunky of Salem.

The pair left soon after, going underground and probably moving to a different safe house.

Qrow returned to Beacon. He had to think about how to alert Oz without getting him to go straight after this Cinder.

Knowing her plans was too great of a boon to overlook. If he was in his human form he would have a great big smirk on his face. He couldn't wait to kill her for what she had done to his nieces.

Jaune sat in thought. Ruby had told them everything about her journey to see Roman and what he had told her. They had discussed a lot but there hadn't been any real decisions. Just that they would all take Cinder Fall down.

The others were all asleep now but Jaune was having a hard time sleeping. Knowing that the one who had caused them all so much pain was in the very building terrified him. What if she knew and was going to kill them in their sleep?

The irrational thought kept him awake and his mind wouldn't stop considering possible plans. Sun and his team were good picks for bringing into the fold, as we're CFVY. Both were strong and SSSN was even from Haven. They could get more information on Cinder's team from them.

But when the battle came would they all be able to be there to fight? Should they? If three strong teams went to fight one person, would it mean condemning others to die? Would they even be able to fight without getting in each other's way?

They had to deal with Cinder, her team, the Grimm and the White Fang. Even if the Atlassian Knights didn't turn, it was still a tall order. But if they split up to deal with them all, could any of them even beat Cinder?

They needed a trump card to deal with Cinder. But what did they have?

In the end, none of them could come up with anything, and with the tournament starting in the next couple days, their time was running short.

Ruby trained hard, day and night, to get strong enough. It wouldn't be enough to beat Cinder on her own but maybe it would be enough to eke out a win.

Soon enough, the tournament had started and they were no closer to figuring out a plan of attack and with Cinder about to put her plans into action the nerves of the two teams were riding high.

The first day went off without a hitch. JNPR battled against a team called BRNZ and claimed victory. It was well earned. But since nothing had happened yet their anxiety grew.

That day and after another long conversation they decided to bring SSSN and CFVY into their anti-cinder squad. They took the news of the impending disaster well… everything considered.

And then Ruby received a strange message.

"I am sorry to ask you here on such short notice, but I felt it would be best." Winter Schnee said before taking a sip of tea. Ruby hadn't been expecting the message for sure, she hadn't even known the woman was in the city.

"It's no problem. It's not like I have to worry about fighting in the tournament." Ruby waved the issue off and munched on a cookie.

"I wished to ask you a couple of questions about my sister if you're willing. I know it might be hard, so do not feel pressured." Winter gave her a concerned look. It reminded Ruby of when Weiss was worried but wanted to look like she didn't care. Some political thing apparently.

"It depends." Ruby said cautiously.

"Of course. Back in Atlas, we held a large funeral. One would have thought that some king had died for all of its grandiose nature. Father pulled out all the stops so that everyone knew that HIS daughter had saved the day." She didn't sound pleased at that. Ruby wasn't either.

"So what do you want to know?"

"I would like to know about my sister's death. I want to know if she suffered. I read the report but you were there." Winter looked so sad, even as she tried to hide it.

"Okay…" Ruby closed her eyes and thought back. There was some pain there, just in trying to think back to that time, but she pushed through. "We had left the train, we battled some Grimm and then had to climb a wall to get out. Weiss used her Glyphs to make sure we all got out."

She halted and had to take all breath, hiding it with all sip of coffee. She could do this.

"When we got to the top, the Grimm were waiting. All our auras were running low from fighting on the train… then, a Beowolf got me. Tried to gut me. My Aura broke and it all went wrong. To protect me, Weiss made a wall of ice, it blocked the Grimm from getting to me and…"

Ruby's breath hitched and she let out a shuddering breath before continuing. "The ground under her collapsed. The wall had added too much weight and it was weak from all the explosions. She fell and the rocks fell all around her. She was crushed. I don't know if she suffered, but she tried to help me…"

Tears started to fall from Ruby's eyes. She hadn't really told anyone the full story. Just bits and pieces. But how do you tell people the details of those events? Even this had left out the fear, the fighting… every little detail that had determined the outcome.

"Thank you, Miss Rose. My sister's letters told me much about you, and it is clear that Weiss thought highly of you. If you ever need to turn to someone, you can come to me." She handed Ruby a card with Winter's contact information. She took it.

"Thank you, Miss Schnee."

"Please, call me Winter. I couldn't ask a close friend of my sister to refer to me so formally."

"Then, thank you, Winter."

Their meeting wrapped up soon after. Winter was running security at Beacon and Ruby had training to get to.

The day was coming close.

"I'm telling you Oz, we need to choose the Maiden now. If I learned anything from my time investigating it's that the people who targeted Amber are planning something." Qrow stepped forward and placed his hands on Ozpin's desk.

"Qrow I understand your concern but we must be sure the next Maiden is loyal! We can't have another Amber." Ironwood stated.

"And we have no clue when they shall strike! What happens if they attack tomorrow? Will we just say 'oh well, we tried'?"

"They won't attack! My army is here! They would be fools to attack now!"

"If you forgot Jimmy, your army is outside the city now. Ozpin was put in charge of security for the Festival." Qrow stepped back from the desk and glared at Ironwood.

"Boys! This argument isn't helping!" Glynda shouted and stepped between them. "So, Ozpin, do you have anyone as a candidate?"

The older man finally spoke. "I do. I have been considering Miss Nikos. She is powerful on her own and her ties to her team are strong."

"Her family are strong politically in Mistral, she could be drawn into their schemes." Jimmy countered. Qrow just rolled his eyes.

"I believe her bonds to her team are stronger than those to her family. She did come here rather than Haven after all. Just like Miss Schnee, I believe it was to escape their influence." Ozpin steepled his hands and placed his elbows on his desk.

"Is it to be Miss Nikos then?" Glynda asked, pushing her glasses back up.

"She is the best choice. Older years may be stronger but will be harder to separate from their teams if necessary. That should answer James' concerns of loyalty." The man in question nodded. "She is also the best of her year, so she can defend herself. The only other options would be Miss Valkyrie, who is too attached to Mr Ren, and Miss Rose."

Qrow bristled. His niece was already in enough trouble without being the damned Maiden! Ozpin nodded to him. "However, I doubt neither Qrow or Tai would approve." Qrow nodded and muttered 'damned right'. "I also believe her mental state is of some concern. We have no guarantee she would not use her powers for ill at this time." He held up a hand when Qrow made to interrupt. "Power corrupts Qrow, and until I am sure she is of sound mind I could not entrust her with this power."

"Yeah Yeah." Qrow muttered, putting his hand into his pockets.

"Then we are in agreement then? Miss Nikos shall become the next Fall Maiden." Glynda asked. At everyone's nod, she continued. "Then the question is, when do we ask her?"

"After the doubles. She can then say she wants a friend to go on because she wants to see them do well. It won't be the best answer but it'll make people think she is just too kind to fight for the spot in the singles." Ironwood said.

"Right now. We don't know when the enemy will react, so the sooner the better!" Qrow countered. This needs to happen! They are going to strike any day now!

Ozpin held up a hand. "We shall do both. I will bring her in and inform her. She will have until just after the doubles to decide. Does that work for you both?" They nodded. "Good. James, please have some of your Specialists join the Huntsmen I have recalled. We shall keep the defenders hidden amongst the spectators. Qrow, I would like you to join them as well."

"I will keep my fleet on standby as well. They will remain outside the city but close enough to call in." Ironwood turned to Qrow. "We may have our differences, but would you join me tonight?"

"Sorry what?" Qrow asked. What kind of…

"Didn't you forget? We located Junior. We are taking him in tonight. He won't escape us." Ironwood gave him a quizzical look.

"Right. Sorry. Didn't get much sleep last night. I'm down to kick some ass." Qrow rubbed his head. He needed a drink.

Ironwood nodded and left. Glynda made her goodbyes as well.

"Qrow. May I ask why you believe the enemy will strike during the Festival?" Ozpin asked as he pulled out some paperwork.

"Just something Ruby said. It's a good chance to cause some chaos." Ozpin just nodded and got to work. Qrow sighed and left.

What a day… let's hope he listens to me…

A/N: Long chapter is long. At least for me anyway. A lot going on and time is passing quickly. So the first round is over, without RWBY around its only JNPR's fight. Oh and Roman's alive. The battle is close at hand now. Hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time.